Many of us started 2021 off with a brand-new set of resolutions – like quitting smoking, joining a gym or just cutting back on those café coffees – and by now just as many of us have already broken them.
Even if you manage to get through January with the best intentions, more often than not by February and March, most resolutions have fallen by the wayside.
So, what do you have to do to make a New Year’s resolution stick?
Well, according to Professor Richard Ryan, an international expert on motivational research and professor emeritus of psychology at the University of Rochester, you’re far more likely to stick to a resolution if it helps someone else, rather than just yourself.
“If you want to make a New Year’s resolution that really makes you happy, think about the ways in which you can contribute to the world,” Professor Ryan explains.
The problem with standard New Year’s resolutions, like losing weight, is they come from social pressures.
“Part of the reason for that is where it’s coming from: it’s often coming from internal or external pressure–as opposed to a goal that’s something that you might intrinsically value such as having more health or vitality,” Professor Ryan says.
“If the goal is one that is not ‘authentic’ and not really coming from your own values or interests, the energy for it fades fast.”
Focusing on ways we can help other people – like volunteering or just lending a hand to a neighbour in need – is ultimately more satisfying, and this in turn adds to our own sense of wellbeing – making us more likely to keep them up.
With so many people doing it tough, choosing a resolution that helps others as much as ourselves makes sense to us.
